Large pleasure boats, such as the cabin cruiser at left, are a common sight on the shores of Lake Winnebago at Osh Kosh, Wisc. A 23-foot long boat, designed by Osh Kosh native Stan Widmer for potential military and other uses, looks a little out of place docked next to the large cruiser. Widmer’s prototype was given a workout June 22 and 23 for naval and other officials on the same lake where Widmer once raced speed boats. (Submitted photo) Stan Widmer of Staples returned to his hometown last month to put the boat design he has spent the past 40 years developing to its first major test.

Officials from the federal government and from several companies involved in producing Widmer’s 23-foot long boat a reality were on hand June 22 and 23 on Lake Winnebago at Osh Kosh, Wisconsin for their first good look at Widmer’s finished prototype. Widmer and others piloted their prototype through the waves of the large lake where 50 years ago Widmer raced speed boats over the same waters.

That experience as a youth, when more than one speed boat hull came apart due to repeated smashing the waves, gave Widmer the seed of an idea for something better.

The Staples-based engineer’s idea for many years has been creating a plastic hull out of polyethylene in a double hulled, cross-link design that Widmer was able to patent in 2002. Only since 2007 has the 73-year-old engineer been able to interest the Navy and other federal agencies in his design. The Office of Naval Research (ONR), with the assistance of former Sen. Norm Coleman’s office and others, has backed Widmer’s efforts with funding of about $2.5 million, allowing him to hire staff and finish designing and building this first boat.

“It performed very well on our test runs. I think the navy people were impressed,” Widmer said after returning to Staples. Four people from the navy research office were at Osh Kosh, but they were unable to comment on the navy’s interest, according to a story in The Northwestern, the Osh Kosh daily newspaper.

On Monday, June 28, Stan and his employees at Widmer’s office in the Staples Industrial Building loaded their boat onto a semi trailer, with the boat headed to Fort Monroe in Hampton, Va., where navy test engineers will put the boat through their own tests.

Widmer feels his boat will decrease the injury rate experienced on military missions. “Fifty percent of military missions that go out come back with injuries from severe impacting. My boat, which flexes, is going to reduce injuries to those persons,” Widmer said.

“This plastic boat is unsinkable, so it would save lives,” he adds.

Among others, Jerel Nelsen and Mark Schmitz from Staples were at the Osh Kosh test runs and got a chance to visit with Widmer, navy officials and others. They reported back to the Staples Economic Development Authority (SEDA) on their trip on June 30. “The ONR does not buy boats,” Nelsen, the SEDA executive director, said. The navy’s Combat Testing division now owns the boat and is in charge of what happens now.

“Getting the test results back will be a significant step,” Schmitz, one of the seven EDA board members, said. They reported the navy people spoke highly of what they had seen so far, but also made it clear they do not have the final say.

One possibility that came up at Osh Kosh was the idea of including a Tevlar material in the hull to stop bullets. Another concern that was heard at Osh Kosh is the navy does not want to store flammable plastic boats aboard larger naval vessels. One potential for Widmer’s boat is naval use as patrol boats based off a larger ‘mother ship.’

The SEDA and Widmer have the idea of creating a manufacturing complex at the new Staples Airport Industrial Park, where his boats could be produced. The process however, will involve building a huge rotational molding machine for boats longer than the one prototype. As far as anyone knows, no one has ever built a roto molding device that large.